Regents approve funding graduate fellowships

BATON ROUGE – Graduate students facing the higher costs of enrollment in highly technical programs soon could get some help paying the bills.

The Board of Regents today approved the “Endowed Superior Graduate Student Scholarship Subprogram” which will offer cash assistance to those who qualify and are approved by campuses.

The program is an extension of the Regents’ endowed professorship and imminent scholars programs funded through a state trust fund and local generated revenues.

Graduate students enrolled in programs identified in the WISE (Workforce Innovation for a Stronger Economy) program as fulfilling state job needs could qualify. Those programs primarily are engineering, mathematics, computer science and other technical programs, although medical and other types of research are included.

The board approved allowing campuses that have difficulty filling vacant endowed professorships to utilize those dollars for scholarships, provided the donors approve of that use.

The Board of Regents is putting up $2 million, which would provide 40 percent of the funding. Universities would have to raise the other 60 percent.

The $100,000 endowed scholarships may be used to supplement other scholarships, fellowships, assistantships, or similar support provided to the recipients, the new policy says.

At the suggestion of Regent Roy O. Martin III, the board approved allowing LSU law school students enrolling in the new petroleum law program, since they are taking engineering courses, to participate.

LSU Law School Chancellor Jack Weiss described the program as “one of the most significant things done for the benefit of students in a long time. This is something very specific, concrete that’s going to benefit thousands of students across dozens of disciplines.” He predicted campus heads “will be dancing in the streets.”